Sleeping in James Bond's bed and more!

Oh what a find! La Maison Blanche was exactly what we needed.  We sat in the salon, sipping mint tea served by the wonderful Annanuska and told Aziz our woeful story.  We asked if he had a room for five nights.  He shook his head sadly,  You can stay but sometimes you will have to change rooms, but tonight you will stay in the Moulay Ismail room for the standard price.

At that point we knew little of the history of Moulay or the room. All we wanted to do was soak in the deep bath, eat and sleep.  I had a disconcerting pain in my back which distracted me from the vivid description of the beautifully hand painted ceilings, wallpaper and silk curtains. But my ears did prick up when he said.  'This is the bed that James Bond slept in!'   

The next day we discovered it was Daniel Craig who had stayed in the room.  During our stay we tried out three rooms, all for the standard room price.  They were named after famous people, mainly writers and poets. As for Moulay Ismail we discovered it was named after Sultan Moulay Ismail IBN Sharif - the most gruesome character in the history of Morocco. He has some dubious claims to fame including the fathering of more kids than anyone else... and I always thought that was Ghengis Khan!

An interesting read here

After a glorious bath that eased my bath somewhat we chose a quirky closest restaurant to have a tagine. Glorious views, very ordinary food and a sneaky red wine served in plastic beakers.

The next morning Annanuska served us the most wonderful breakfast fresh unleavened bread, jams, thin pikelets, juice, scambled eggs and dark, dark coffee.  Yum!  As we chatted with Aziz we realised we had got her name wrong.  We had been calling her  'My name is nuska'  Ha Ha the joys of travel.

We were excited to set off exploring.  The only niggle was this pain in my back and side when I lay down or sat!

Exploring the Kasbah by foot!

After our wind and rainswept ferry trip we arrive to a sunny modern port of Algeciras.  We quickly disembark to be transported by bus to the city.  We are a bit disconcerted by all the razor wire around the port but everything seems calm.  Exiting the port we spy a row of taxis.  A guy wearing a  djellababsits nonchalantly in a deck chair directing all operations.  He assigns us to a lively cab driver who quotes the amount we have been told and we are off!

We loved the half hour trip, enjoying the sun and the change of architecture. Once we arrive at the Kasbah things start to change!

We had booked an airbnb house in the old Medina. The address was La Maison Bleue, Pl de las Kasbah, Tangier.  The first problem was that no cars were allowed in the Kasbah.  The second problem was that no one could recognise the address!

 

Of course there are always a couple of local boys eager to help and to practise their English.  Within seconds they had grabbed Roger's luggage and they were off.  I held onto my bag, reluctant to hand it over to these nimble teenagers.  Within a couple of minutes we were outside La Maison Blanche!  'No Maison Bleue' we kept saying. Everyone looked confused.  Now I had bought an ESim as i was sick of swapping over sim cards - only problem was it wouldn't work in Morrocco and so we had no phone or internet and no way of contacting our host!

That was the moment we met Aziz who came out of Maison Blanche and handed his phone to us so we could call the host but guess what - no answer.  Undeterred the boys asked to look at the picture of the  house.  Ah Ha!  They were off like a shot.  10 minutes later we were at the house.  We had to arranged to meet Malik who was to let us in.  There was no-one there.  

Over the next three hours we met copious number of people who all knew Malik and assured us that he would be there in 5 minutes.  No one showed up!

'That's it!' I said 'We're off back to La Maison Blanche' the beautiful riad we had seen.

How wonderful was the moment when Aziz opened the door and said 'Welcome.  Come drink some mint tea.' 

Ferry across the Mersey - erm no it's actually the Gibraltar Strait

 Did you know that lots of apartments in Gibraltar don't have windows?  Neither did we until we rented one! The reason?  The omnipresent Rock.  Land is short, the Rock is huge. Apartments are built tight against it, hence units built at the back of the block have no windows!

So now, it's the day  we have to leave our windowless room for our journey to Tangier in Morocco. I'm so excited, It's somewhere I've wanted to go to for a long time. Tangier, Fes, Marakesh and Rabat - here we come!

But wait a minute I haven't posted for a while .  Why is that?  Read on to find out!

Getting out of Gibraltar is not as easy as it seems.  The taxi fails to arrive.  No probs we'll walk.  It's downhill after all. Steep hill and cobblestones conquered we look for the cabs but find a number 5 bus instead.  One of the joys of the island had been the buses especially the no 1 & 2 that thread their way through the town and along the coastline. Spectacular views for only a couple of dollars.  The locals conversations are priceless.

We pile our luggage onboard and head for the border only to find that is exactly where the bus stopped - the border.  We had to haul our luggage back to customs along a road with no pedestrian path. Not a great way to start the day.

When we get there, customs was a non event.  With a smile and a wave they direct back to where we came. A quick negotiation with a cab driver and we are off to Algeciras to catch the ferry.  A spectacular trip along the coast.  Already the scenery and architecture are so different. We arrive at the Ferry Terminal much too early but it gives us a chance to munch our snacks, people watch and to enjoy the 'English' of the effusive waiter.  English lesson over we try to board the ferry.

No signage anywhere.  Announcements in Spanish and a waiting room where everyone is boarding a different ferry to the one we are taking. There's a languid official who waves our questions away until suddenly she sprints towards us saying 'Hurry. Hurry.'

The weather has turned and it is pouring with rain, We see long rows of cars crawling through the rain towards the cavernous doors of the ferry.  We won't be boarding anytime soon.  BUT I am wrong and we find ourselves slithering across the huge deck, towing our bags behind us.

Soaked to the skin, we arrive in the cavernous snack bar.  We sit isolated looking at the rain until the bartender snaps the curtains shut.  Why? Who knows? 

 

Over the next hour,  people dribble in. Maybe we misunderstood the words 'hurry, hurry!' 

A message keeps thundering over the speakers. 'All passports must be stamped before you enter Morocco. I assumed this meant at the port.  By the time I had worked it out and found out where to get the passports stamped, there was a huge queue snaking through the restaurant.

One official sits trying to cope with the hundreds of people flowing through.  Eventually I reach the end of the queue.  I listen to the woman in front. She has to prove where she is staying in 6 different cities with receipts etc.  I decide to wing it and say we are only staying in one place Tangier. 

'I show him the receipt for the house we have rented. 'This not address' he says. 

'Yes, Yes' I say.

''Show picture of house.'

When I show him, he shakes his head and reluctantly stamps my passport. I didn't pick for one second that anything was amiss.

THE ROCK! Gibraltar Part 2

Of course no trip to Gibraltar would be complete without a walk up the Rock, well in our case a cable car up and a 5hr walk down!

The Rock is huge!  The cable car up reminded us of the home exchange we did in Cluses!  Everyday we would take a different cable car to Pique du Midi or some other place and walk and walk and walk and so it was today!

The Macaques were everywhere.  If a tourist mini-bus stopped for a moment, they were onto it!  Tourists who didn't take the warning signs seriously about keeping their bags safe were amazed at how quickly they could unzip them and steal their lunch!

Roger here ... O'Hara's Battery located on the highest point of the Rock surrounded by the Upper Reserve, was named after the Governor, Charles O'Hara in 1740 - 1802.  He was a flamboyant character who dressed well and was well known for lavish hospitality.  He never married but had two mistresses and four children.  He was replaced by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and the future father of Queen Victoria.

O'Hara built a watch tower at this point which became a gunnery position and the current museum represents it as it was in 1890.  I LOVED it,  but I think Julie preferred looking at the ocean and the seabirds. 

Julie here.  There is photo there of a Lister Engine... When we volunteered with National Parks we ran tours of Barrenjoey Lighthouse ... ALL of the men raved about the LISTER engine!

Oh and did you know there are 8km of road tunnels in the Rock... I didn't!

St Michael’s Cave was long believed to be bottomless. This probably gave birth to the story that the Rock of Gibraltar was linked to Africa by a subterranean passage under the Strait of Gibraltar.

I wasn't prepared for the sheet size and grandeur of the place.  These photos really don't do it justice.  Check out the video here.  I found the light show a bit overwhelming.  The stalactites and stalagmites were enough for me.

I would have loved to have heard a concert here!

Yes the history is all there in the names they chose. Walking down from the Rock we were more than relieved to see the Devil's Gap Path.  So much to see and do.... one day on the Rock really wasn't enough!

Trafalgar Cemetery occupies a small area outside Gibraltar city walls.  It was here that injured sailors from the Battle of Trafalgar (21 October, 1805) who died of their wounds were laid to rest.  

Captain Thomas Norman, Royal Marine Corps and HMS Mars aged 36 and Lieutenant William Forster HMS Colossus aged 20. Those killed in battle were buried at sea.  HMS Victory was towed to Rosia Bay (Gibraltar) and Nelson's remains were transported to England and buried in a crypt in St Paul's Cathedral.

A ceremony is held each year that commemorates those who died in the Battle of Trafalgar.  One gravestone outlined the poignant information that two sailors had died from the same shot! Amazing peaceful place.

Great to hear all the family news and to share the stories... Hopefully not such a long break next time!

A fast and furious trip to Gibraltar! Part 1

Amazing what you can do in four days!  Such an interesting place, much more multicultural than I thought although the English culture certainly makes its mark!

English Bobbies now there's a surprise! English food and Spanish murals.

The Rock Hotel is famous for the many stars who have stayed there: Sir Winston Churchill, Errol Flynn, Alec Guinness and Sean Connery to name a few.  

John & Yoko made it even more famous when they chose to get married in Gibraltar and to spend their honeymoon at the Rock!

The art on the street is a series of road blocks.  The artist was still painting them when we were there and of couse there was John and Yoko and Queen Elizabeth's visit in 1954!

Farewell Sevilla ... we will be back

 Thank you to everyone who made this such a great trip!  See you again soon!  Gibraltar here we come.

Alcazar Palace of Sevilla

No we didn't do the tourist tour the city by horse and cart or climb the Giralda Tower but we did succumb the other main tourist attraction - the Alcazar Palace of Sevilla.  It was an incredible but not a really enjoyable experience. Hot, crowded and all just too much!  

The history and architecture were truly amazing as you can see from this short video.  https://artsandculture.google.com/story/a-walk-through-the-royal-alc%C3%A1zar-in-seville-ayuntamiento-de-sevilla/mAVxSW6XgETNJQ?hl=en

There were two things we loved...the gardens - (There are thirteen of them in all, Flower, Pond, Lady's, Troy, Dance etc).  Most people were trying to recognise scenes from the 'Game of Thrones' but we loved the plants, they were truly beautiful.  

Our favourite spot was the Baños de Maria Padilla.  This pool was hidden away on a small path which led off from the Gardens. Most people missed it and so we had it to ourselves.  

The story is that it was built for the mistress of Pedro I (Pedro the Cruel).  She would walk naked through the palace to bathe in the pool.  Pedro insisted that embassadors drank from her bathing water before they consulted with him. (He wasn't called Pedro the Cruel for nothing!)

She bore him several children but he didn't marry her until after she died (weird eh?) when he asked the Pope to annul all his previous marriages and declare them man and wife!

I must have been such a relief to swim and escape the relentless sun or in our case tourists!